Northern Synod News March 2005—Page
Clarification of Roles 2
Welcome Kevin Davis 3
Jabiru Induction 4
Riyala News 6
Moderator’s Letter 7
NCYC 8
News Roundup 10
NRRC Chair 11
NRCC/ARDS 12
Awards 13
Dancing before the Lord 14
Code crazy 15
Provocations 16
Issue No 81 March 2005
The Northern Synod The Northern Synod
looks to the futurelooks to the future
continued page 2
The Interim General Secretary
of the Northern Synod has
wasted little time in developing
a blueprint for the future devel-
opment and management of
Synod affairs.
Mr Kevin Davis took up the
reins for one year on January
17th, 2005 and began to devel-
op a strategy plan for the future
of the Synod.
As a layperson, Mr Davis sees
his role as that of a facilitator
and “manager of the gifted
people we have in the Synod to
ensure that the mission and vi-
sion of our church and its
members is enhanced”.
Mr Davis believes that his title
as “Interim General Secretary”
is very appropriate as it reflects
the period of transition through
which we are going. It also re-
flects the fact that as Synod
General Secretary, Mr Davis
has a task to perform and he
intends to do that “with the
full authority of a General
Secretary”.
Mr Davis recognises that the
year ahead will be a time of
change and, he says, “I intend
to bring about the changes
required as identified by vari-
ous reports and decisions
made by Synod”. Mr Davis’
prior experience in a range of
management positions will
stand him in good stead as he
undertakes this task at the
behest of Synod.
Mr Davis says “I have as-
sumed my role for the general
operations and the organisa-
tion of Synod as that of a
Chief Executive Officer.” As
the CEO, he says, “I am the
accountable officer to
the Synod. I am responsible to
the Synod to ensure that its
policy, bylaws and regulations
are enacted. It is incumbent
upon me to ensure the efficient
business operations of the Syn-
od are carried out”.
“All of the Synod’s officers
and Committees and, where
appropriate, the officers and
Committees of the Presbyteries
will have my total support to
carry out their duties,” Mr Da-
vis assured the Synod Standing
Committee.
In the few months since he has
taken up his position, Mr Davis
has ascertained that the Synod
Office is operating on a sound
and effective business footing.
The office is staffed by compe-
tent and totally committed peo-
ple, dedicated to the mission of
the church.
Mr Davis has already em-
barked on a number of changes
to address past uncertainties
about role descriptions and du-
ty statements within the office.
These changes emphasise the
role of the Interim General
Secretary as being the leader of
“I intend to bring about the
changes required as identi-
fied by various reports and
decisions made by Synod”.
Northern Synod News March 2005 2
on behalf of the
Synod. The
Moderator represents the
Synod at public or official
occasions and ceremonies
and inter-church gatherings.
“All Synod’s officers and
Committees and, where appro-
priate, the officers and Com-
mittees of the Presbyteries will
have my total support to carry
out their duties”
a team within which clear lines
of responsibility have been es-
tablished and which are reflect-
ed through revised duty state-
ments.
Synod and Presbyteries
Historically the Northern Syn-
od, largely because of its small
population base and vast geo-
graphic area, has combined a
number of roles that elsewhere
would be clearly divided be-
tween Presbyteries and Synods
and their respective officers.
At the 2004 Synod meeting
some changes were foreshad-
owed and part of the forward
planning of the Northern Syn-
od is designed to clarify the
separate roles of the Presbyter-
ies and the Synod.
The objective of 2005 is to en-
sure that both the Pilgrim Pres-
bytery of Northern Australia
(PPNA) and the Northern Re-
gional Council of Congress
(NRCC) will be resourced in
order to carry out all the func-
tions expected of a presbytery.
As part of this resourcing,
PPNA Chair, Felicity Amery
will for this year also provide
support and services to congre-
gations and ministers within
the PPNA.
Northern Synod -
Moderator
General Secretary
Office staff
PPNA
Chair
Ministers and
congregations
NRCC
Chair
Ministers and
congregations
ARDS
Standing Commit-
teeFAPS, MACS,
UCA Agencies-
Frontier Services
Somerville
Schools
A model of the organisational structure of
the Northern Synod.
It is the General Secretary’s
role to ensure that the Moder-
ator is adequately briefed to
fulfil his or her duties. Under
this model the role of the
General Secretary is that of
providing executive support
within the Synod and to
maintain links with Assembly
and the wider church.
As of this year the Synod and
both Presbyteries will imple-
ment staff appraisal schemes.
Moderator and General
Secretary
As the elected head and Chair
of the Synod it is the Modera-
tor who speaks for and acts
Are you heading in the wrong
direction? ….
GOD allows U turns.
Northern Synod News March 2005—Page 3
The Northern Synod is
delighted to welcome Kevin
Davis AM as interim Synod
Secretary.
Kevin has lived and worked in
the Northern Territory since
1966 and is well known to
many of us in the Uniting
Church in Northern Australia.
The energy which has seen him
fulfil many tasks for both
church and community is now
being devoted to the ongoing
life of the Northern Synod.
A West Australian by birth,
Kevin, a trained teacher, was
recruited from Denmark (WA)
Methodist Church by the
Methodist Overseas Mission to
teach in primary or secondary
schools somewhere on the
mission field.
Originally this was to be in Fiji
but in 1966 Kevin and his wife
Heather, together with their
two year old son, were sent to
Elcho Island to fill a vacancy
there. Kevin and Heather’s
second son was born in Darwin
a year later.
The first task on arrival at
Elcho was three weeks of
intensive study of the
Gupupunyu language. The
family remained on Elcho until
1971 where Kevin’s role was
that of teacher and Principal of
Galiwinku Shepherdson
College.
In 1971 the family returned to
Darwin and joined the
congregation at Darwin
Memorial Uniting Church.
On their return to Darwin,
Kevin, now working for the
Commonwealth Government
in the field of education, was
appointed Principal of
Kormilda College before
moving on to become
involved as Superintendent of
Schools first in Katherine and
then in Darwin and, in 1978,
Director of Schools NT.
With the advent of the
Northern Territory Govern-
ment Kevin continued to
work in Education, eventually
becoming the Director of the
Darwin Institute of
Technology and, from 1989
to mid 2003, Deputy Vice
Chancellor of the Northern
Territory University.
On Australia Day, 2003
Kevin received the award of
Member of the Order of
Australia, for outstanding
service to the community, to
the arts and to education,
particularly the development
of educational opportunities
for Aboriginal children. This
was a fitting recognition of
Kevin’s great contribution to
the community in Northern
Australia.
Despite his time-consuming
work activities Kevin has
continued his commitment to
and involvement in the life of
the Uniting Church. He is an
accredited lay preacher and
has been both an elder and
parish secretary, as well as
choir master. Currently Kevin
is a member of the Darwin
Memorial Church Council
and is the treasurer of that
congregation.
Life for Kevin however is not
all work! Coming from a
Salvation Army background
he learned as a youngster to
play the trumpet – from
which pastime he tells us he
has retired. However Kevin’s
love of music and
performance remains. He is
involved in actively
supporting the Darwin
Symphony Orchestra and is
Chairman of Superstar
Productions which has
brought such productions as
Les Misérables, Fiddler on
the Roof and, this year, Guys
and Dolls to the Darwin
Entertainment Centre.
Together with Heather, who
was born in Scotland, Kevin
also enjoys spending time
with his four grandchildren
who live in Darwin.
Heather and Kevin Davis.
Northern Synod News March 2005 4
Frontier Services’ David Thiem (standing) Rev George Woodward, a former Patrol Padre at Jabiru
Some of the local people perform to welcome the new Patrol Padre into their midst.
Above: People from Jabiru and elsewhere in the Synod
came to welcome and support Graham.
Above right: Graham receives his charge from Rosemary
Young, Director of Frontier Services.
Left: Rev Kate Fraser of Nightcliff and Rev David Thiem of
Frontier Services.
Continued next page
Northern Synod News March 2005—Page 5
The Reverend Graham Brown
was inducted into the Jabiru
Patrol of Frontier Services in
November 2004.
The local congregation as well
as those people he will meet as
he patrols welcomed Graham,
as did a number of members of
the Northern Synod who trav-
elled to Jabiru for the induction
service.
Frontier Services were well
represented by the Director,
Rosemary Young and David
Thiem as this is a Frontier Ser-
vices appointment.
Graham’s wife, Theresia joins
him in his placement at Jabiru.
Rev Graham Brown and Pilgrim Presbytery Chair, The Frontier Services team (from left: Director
Rev Deacon Felicity Amery. Rosemary Young, Theresia and Graham Brown,
David Thiem.
Young people and keyboards seem to be made for each
other.
Members of the local Jabiru congregation relax after
the service.
John and Eleanor have returned to
Victoria where, after a holiday, they
will be looking for new avenues of
ministry which allow them to exer-
cise their gifts as a couple in the ser-
vice of the Church. We wish them
well as they return to family, friends
and a cooler climate.
The Synod held a separation ser-
vice for former Northern Synod
General Secretary, the Rev John
Rowland, in December 2004 at
Darwin Memorial Uniting Church.
The service which was led by the
Moderator, Rev Steve Orme, cele-
brated John’s period of service with
and to the Northern Synod.
John’s last official function as General John and Eleanor Rowland look forward to
Secretary of the Northern Synod. the next stage of their journey together.
John’s stole was painted by Eleanor.
Ph
oto
s: B
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Ph
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s: B
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Northern Synod News March 2005 6
Clem and Joyce Gullick of
Noonamah express their sin-
cere thanks to all those who
responded across the North-
ern Synod to the Lenten Ap-
peal last year to assist with
finance for the caretaker’s
cottage at Riyala.
It has been a very frustrating
and difficult year as we have
continued renovating the de-
mountables. Everything was
progressing well when the ar-
chitect called a halt, informing
Clem that he, the architect, did
not have the necessary permits
to continue as the plans had to
be changed to meet building
code requirements.
Six months passed with prom-
ises of the necessary plans be-
ing finalised. The architect had
so much else on his plate that
Riyala seemed to “get put on
the back burner” all the time.
Eventually, in late November,
the word came that limited
work could recommence. The
wall framework had to be re-
placed. This entailed purchas-
ing steel and a new welder.
The arrival of Peter Butler who
had offered voluntary work as
a caretaker was an answer to
prayer as he brought with him
his welding skills. New neigh-
bours settling in along the road
are Christians and one of them
offered his welding expertise
as well for a couple of weeks
on his days off. Clem was kept
busy keeping up with the cut-
ting and grinding of steel for
them to weld.
Text and photos: Joyce Gul-
lick.
The Caretaker’s Cottage Building at Riyala. At
this stage part of the wall frame is still missing.
Wall frames, steel cutting and welding equipment
As most Darwinites
know we have had a
trying period of hot
humid weather with
little rain. Clem and
Peter have lost litres
of sweat as they
worked all five days a
week, plus.
The photos show the
amount of steel cut-
ting and welding that
had to be done to
build the wall frames.
This is almost com-
plete to the point of
the cladding being put
back on. Later in the
year a Mobile Mis-
sion Team is possibly
arriving to continue
construction.
Getting there … Clem
and Peter working on
the last wall.
At last … all the
wall frames are in
place.
It is February 2005.
Brothers and Sisters in
Christ,
Greetings
As we approach the remem-
brance of Jesus’ death for us
upon the cross and the celebra-
tion of his victory over death
on the first Easter Day, we are
preparing for the most signifi-
cant time in the Christian year.
It reminds us of the extraordi-
nary grace and love of God
shown in Jesus and the impos-
sibility that anything in life or
death can separate us from that
love. With that confidence, we
can face the future.
And we are reminded that we
are “Living together in the love
of Christ”, as our Synod theme
says, not by our own efforts
but because of what God has
done and continues to do for us
in Jesus. We are God’s people
because of Easter, because God
raised Jesus from the dead and
began a whole new way of liv-
ing in this world. Our calling, I
believe, as individual Chris-
tians and as the church, is to
witness to this new way of liv-
ing in word and deed.
Then, as we move from Easter
to Pentecost, we are reminded
that God sends us the Holy
Spirit to make real to us the
love shown in Jesus and em-
power us for our witness to
Jesus.
I pray that in the weeks ahead
you will be renewed by the
Word of God through these
key Christian celebrations.
Further to these few words of
greeting, I want to inform you
of some of the decisions of
the last Synod Standing Com-
mittee so we all are aware of
how we are working together
in the Synod.
Kevin Davis commenced as
the Interim General Secretary
on 17th January. His appoint-
ment is initially for one year.
It is now clear that Kevin, as
General Secretary is the lead-
er of the team in the Synod
Office managing the business
of the Synod. Julie Watts now
has the title of Synod Finance
and Property Officer respon-
sible to Kevin for her work
and using her expertise in
those areas. In Kevin’s ab-
sence, Julie acts as team lead-
er. Judy Orme assists Julie as
accounts clerk. Lyn Bleakley
is personal assistant to the
General Secretary and admin-
istrative assistant in the Syn-
od office. Lyn is not in the
office on Fridays. Gai Now-
land will do general adminis-
trative duties on Fridays as
well as specific work as sec-
retary of the Pilgrim Presby-
tery.
The role of General Secretary
is managerial within the Syn-
od. It no longer includes pas-
toral responsibilities within
the Pilgrim Presbytery. The
Pilgrim Presbytery has taken
responsibility for providing
Pastoral support to it minis-
ters and congregations. To
enable this responsibility to
be carried out by the Chair-
person of the Presbytery
in the first instance, funding
for 40% of a fulltime position
has been approved for this
year. The Pilgrim Presbytery
will need to decide how it will
order its life from next year
onwards. It is recognised that,
under this separation of re-
sponsibilities, the position of
General Secretary is not a
fulltime position. Kevin is de-
termining what level of part-
time support the position war-
rants.
The Moderator is recognised as
the elected head of the Uniting
Church in the Northern Synod
and as such speaks and acts on
behalf of the Synod. The Gen-
eral Secretary is to ensure the
Moderator is fully briefed on
public or church matters re-
quiring him or her to speak or
act. If the Moderator is unable
to attend a meeting or function
in the name of the Synod, he or
she can delegate to another ap-
propriate person.
With the management structure
clear, we can focus our atten-
tion on our ministry and mis-
sion for Christ within the
Northern Synod and beyond.
May the passion of Christ and
the power of the Holy Spirit
empassion and empower you
as witnesses to Jesus in your
daily life and work.
Steve Orme
Northern Synod News March 2005 7
Northern Synod News March 2005 8
January 2005 saw about 1500
young people descend on
Gawler, South Australia for the
National Christian Youth Con-
vention. This was the fiftieth
anniversary of the first NCYC,
held at the Sydney Show-
grounds in 1954.
The theme of this NCYC was
“Live this life”- and that is
what happened as delegates
met in five distinct communi-
ties to engage in daily Bible
studies, worship, electives. In
the evenings, the social “nite-
life” package offered a choice
of night-clubs, discussion
groups and comedy options.
For the Northern Synod dele-
gation the experience began in
Darwin as they left for Ade-
laide by coach, camping along
the way.
Occasionally this meant camp-
ing out—at other times it
meant camping in halls.
Preparing a group banner.
The NCYC programme opened
with a Pentecostal style rally,
complete with altar call to
which a number of people re-
sponded.
This highly personalised ap-
proach was balanced by the
approach of UAICC leader, the
Rev Hohia Matthews from
Port Augusta and the Rev
Sandy Wilson, an African-
American Anglican who
preached at the final night’s
worship.
Hers was a call to justice and
peace, in faith. She reminded
her listeners that Jesus’ way
was that of the peace-maker
and peace-keeper. She chal-
lenged her young listeners to
“build a bridge” between in-
digenous and non-indigenous
cultures and “to build a better
and entirely new culture to-
gether”.
Some people had been fearful
that Gawler in summer would
be too hot! The weather solved
that! It poured, after a freaky
wind storm that was less than
kind to the canvas city. Tents
were abandoned as many dele-
gates moved into classrooms
and camped there for the re-
mainder of the time. “I liked it
better in the classroom”, said
one Northerner.
On the road
The travelling group included
not only people from the
Northern Synod but also a
number of young people from
Indonesia and a “fly-in” from
Cairns, among others.
Once in Adelaide it was again
a matter of pitching tents
alongside the others in a can-
vas suburb.
Northern Synod News March 2005—Page 9
While there was little formal
structure to the “worship” or
“gatherings” component of this
NCYC, and little or no use of
symbols there was a great em-
phasis on performance. This
led to a continuing discussion
on the nature of worship.
“What is worship?” “What are
the similarities and differences
between worship and perfor-
mance?”
The most dominant aspect of
both worship and performance
was the music. There were at
least seven sound stages and
music ranged from hard rock to
jazz and, occasionally, folk.
Hillsong music characterised
the worship gatherings.
The range of bands at NCYC
included local Christian rock
groups, an Indonesian band,
Pacific Island guitar groups
and a band from UAICC, the
Uniting and Aboriginal and
Islander Christian Congress.
On the final night, the band of
the Rev Hohia Matthews per-
formed.
Rachel Jennings, from the
Casuarina congregation, was
part of the NCYC planning
team during 2004. Rachel
observed that the last few
weeks before NCYC were
exhausting, but the experi-
ence was well worth it. As
NCYC organiser, Al
Broadhurst commented, “the
event was great!”.
NCYC 2006 is planned for
Perth.
From this ….
to this.
The Northern Synod banners will
remain as a reminder of a great
shared experience.
Photos: Steve Orme
Northern Synod News March 2005 10
Church of North India in the
Andaman and Nicobar Is-
lands.
The focus of aid is turning
increasingly to rehabilitation
and restoration. $288,700
has been sent to support pro-
jects over the next 3 to 4
months.
The next phase will be recon-
struction of community in-
frastructure. In Sri Lanka
Uniting Church Overseas Aid
is committed to working with
a number of other church
agencies in the Batticola re-
gion to build four new villag-
es that will accommodate
1,000 families. - Rev Bill Fischer, Director UCOA
As reported elsewhere, Jabiru
now has a Patrol Padre resident
in the town, much to the de-
light of all. During Lent, a number of Top
End congregations have
undertaken a series of studies
based on Rick Warren’s
“Purpose Filled Life”. The
studies are called “Forty Days
of Purpose”.
The Iona Community’s John
Bell and Graham Maule will be
visiting Darwin later in the
year. They are well known for
their contributions to
developing worship
resources and music.
Tsunami update ...
The national Church has
responded and continues to
respond to the needs of those
people and nations which
suffered in the Boxing Day
tsunami. To date people of
the Uniting Church have gen-
erously donated $1,483,356 to
relief funding through UC
Overseas Aid.
Partners of Overseas Aid con-
tinue to provide relief—food,
shelter, clothing, clean water—
where required. They are pri-
marily filling gaps not filled by
other agencies. The focus of
this relief work is responding
to requests through the Relief
Committee of the Jaffna Dio-
cese of Sri Lanka and the
Pancake Day in Darwin was
celebrated with great success
at Lake Leanyer , after being
launched at Parliament House
by Family and Community
Services Minister Marion
Scrymgour. Proceeds from
the sale of pancakes in the
NT will go to support Somer-
ville Services and Uniting
Care. The Synod Office staff did
their bit too in munching pan-
cakes for the benefit of Som-
erville Services. They’ve
even offered to do it again
because they forgot to take
some photos for NSN!
The Top End recently experi-
enced its worst cyclone since
Cyclone Tracey.
We thank God that no lives
were lost and that there were
no serious injuries despite In-
grid’s passage directly over a
number of coastal and island
communities.
Nhulunbuy was spared the
worst but the Christian school
at Galwa on Elcho Island was
destroyed and Croker Island
suffered major destruction. The
Tiwi Islands later also bore the
brunt of the Category 5 cy-
clone. Ingrid was downgraded
as it moved west, out to sea,
but was again Category 5 when
it crossed the Kimberley coast.
UnitingJustice has
upgraded its website
in order to better re-
flect their work. Past agency
publications will be available
online and the website will
keep these and Assembly jus-
tice resolutions updated.
The website address is:
www://nat.uca.org.au/
unitingjustice The Assembly Office
welcomes new Associate
General Secretary, Rev Glenda
Blakefield who began work on
March 1.
Uniting International Mission
tells us that a number of
Australian Defence Force
Chaplains have been deployed
to assist with humanitarian
assistance after the tsunami.
Northern Synod News March 2005—Page 11
Against a background of ban-
ners students graduated from
their courses at Nungalinya at
the end of the 2004 academic
year.
Amongst the graduates was
Mowanjum’s Kirsty Burgu
who received her Certificate
in Theology 3.
Congratulations Kirsty!
Kirsty receives her award from Principal Dawn Cardona
Above: The graduating class 2004.
Right: Kirsty and her family after graduation.
National Regional Manager
of Frontier Services, Sharon
Davis, has been awarded the
prestigious Louis Ariotti
Award for her role in devel-
oping aged care services in
the Northern Territory.
Sharon was nominated by
Frontier Services Director,
Rosemary Young, in recogni-
tion of her outstanding contri-
bution to the care of the frail
and aged in the community,
and to training those who pro-
vide that care in the remotest
regions of the continent.
Sharon has been a strong and
passionate advocate for a va-
riety of aged care services to
meet the needs she identified,
particularly for older indige-
nous people. She has devel-
oped partnerships with indig-
enous communities and de-
veloped programs to allow
elderly people to remain in
their homes, even in remote
communities.
Sharon has also been instru-
mental in developing dementia
services and has taken a lead in
ensuring that accreditation
standards are flexible enough
to accommodate culturally ap-
propriate care and remote ser-
vice provision.
Sharon will be taking long ser-
vice leave this year and plans
to spend the time in Chennai,
India, providing advice on de-
veloping aged care services
there.
Congratulations, Sharon.
Ph
oto
s: J
uli
e W
att
s
Northern Synod News March 2005 12
The new Chair of NRCC is
Rev Mawunydjil Gara-
wirrtja.
Mawunydjil is a Birrikili,
Gupapuyngu man from North
East Arnhem Land. He first
discerned God’s call on his
life in 1964 when he was
leaving school and his teacher
asked him what he wanted to
be. His response, “A minis-
ter…”.
It was 1969 before an oppor-
tunity came to study further
in Papua New Guinea for 2
years. These were both diffi-
cult years being away from
family and his beloved coun-
try and also exciting years,
studying learning more deep-
ly the Word of God and de-
veloping pastoral skills. Won-
derful new friendships were
made and new skill as a gar-
dener were acquired, because
each student had to grow
their own vegetables.
1978 found him working in
Darwin when a call came
from the Milingimbi/ Ram-
ingining parish to return to
Milingimbi as their Pastor. So
he took up this position in
1979. In 1981 Mawunydjil
was endorsed as a candidate
for Minister of Word & Sac-
rament. This saw him back in
Darwin attending Nungalinya
College as a fulltime student.
In 1984 he took up an ap-
pointment as Minister for the
Galiwin’ku/Gapuwiyak par-
ish, living at Galiwin’ku.
In this placement he served
for 10 years.
Mawunydjil was the Deputy
Chairman of the national
body UAICC, for a time in
the early 90’s. He also was
the Chairman for NRCC in
the early 90’s.
The need for administration
training and support for min-
isters saw him take up a 6
week exposure in Darwin of-
fice in July of 1995 which
was so encouraging that in
October the same year a new
placement for two years as
Admin & Ministry Assistant
to the Executive Officer was
created and Mawunydjil was
appointed to this ministry.
Given that he and Rev Dr
Djiniyini Gondarra had
trained together in PNG this
new team was a real plus for
NRCC.
Mawunydjil returned to
Milingimbi at the completion
of this placement in 1979. He
has held the position of Com-
munity Liaison for the
Milingimbi Council since his
return. He recently served a
two year period as Council
Chairman. In 2002 he was
exercise ‘pastoral oversight’,
for the Milingimbi Congrega-
tion.
The NRCC meeting prior to
the 2004 Synod elected
Mawunydjil Chairman. This
appointment means he also
represents us on the UAICC
National Executive, Nunga-
linya College Board, and the
Northern Synod Standing
Committee. UAICC nominat-
ed Mawunydjil for the Execu-
tive of the Aboriginal & Is-
lander Commission within
the National Council of
Churches, a position he took
up in 2004.
The wisdom and giftedness
Mawunydjil brings to his role
within our Synod and the
wider church is a blessing to
us. - Stuart McMillan.
Christian Unity
Working Group within the Uniting Church
focuses on ecumenical rela-
tionships within Australia and
internationally through the
World Council of Churches,
the Christian Conference of
Asia, the Alliance of Re-
formed Churches and the
World Methodist Council as
well as the National Council
of Churches in Australia.
The Northern Synod is
looking for a representative
on this working group. If
you are interested please
contact Kevin Davis at the
Synod Office.
asked to .
Northern Synod News March 2005—Page 13
Greg Stehle of the Aboriginal
Resource Development Ser-
vice at Nhulunbuy has sent
us some more photos of the
NRCC/ARDS meeting in
Darwin which preceded the
2004 Synod meeting.
Some of the delegates.
Making music and singing to the
glory of God.
Everyone has a chance to speak …
and listen.
Delegates speak with conviction.
Northern Synod News March 2005 14
In 2004 the Mission and Con-
gregational Services Commit-
tee of the Northern Synod
(MACS) assisted members of
Yadah Adonai to attend the
2004 Christian Dance Fellow-
ship of Australia (CDFA) Cre-
ative Arts Conference in Can-
berra.
Debra Harding writes on be-
half of Yadah Adonai Creative
Arts to thank MACS.
“One of the highlights of the
conference came during a cor-
porate worship time when two
men were spontaneously danc-
ing on stage during worship,”
writes Debra. “Looking down
onto the stage area I was so
touched to see these men wor-
shipping and then to see anoth-
er man leave his seat and come
up on stage, and then another
and another until every man in
the auditorium (all ten or so of
them) was on stage spontane-
ously and yet in unity worship-
ping God.
“From where I was it was like
watching them being drawn by
a call for worship. I could see
an amazing beauty and authori-
ty within it.
“At the same time there was a
line of women dancing Israeli
style over to the side and this
too looked to be moving in to-
tal unison with what the men
were doing. The unity and
power in this spontaneous wor-
ship moved me deeply. This
was one of the awesome ways
in which I saw God’s Spirit
move at the CDFA confer-
ence.”
As representatives of the NT,
Yadah Adonai presented a
dance to “The Great South-
land of the Holy Spirit”.
The Conference challenged
participants to draw closer to
God and to recognise God’s
presence with them in their
personal journeys.
Sharing with likeminded peo-
ple and learning from their
knowledge and wisdom was
important for me at this con-
ference.
During the confer-
ence time was given for each
state and/or Territory to meet
and elect state co-ordinators.
Debra Harding has been
elected to represent the NT in
this role for the next 2 years.
Annika Bisseling writes: “It
was very encouraging to meet
other people who are also in-
volved in creative ministry.
There was a wide range of cre-
ative arts that gave us lots
of ideas and inspira-
tions for the future. It was quite
an intensive time of learning.”
Sonia Van der aa observed
that it was an amazing experi-
ence to meet with 200 other
believers with a willingness to
praise and worship God, using
movement to express their joy
and thanksgiving.
It was like watching
them being drawn by a
call for worship. I
could see an amazing
beauty and authority
within it.
The unity and
power in this
spontaneous wor-
ship moved me
deeply.
Sonia attended a workshop
called the “Ahha Factor” and
another workshop focusing on
communing with God through
dance in worship.
Our Christian experience can
only be enriched by such ideas.
Northern Synod News March 2005—Page 15
The Da Vinci Code, a novel
by Don Brown seems to have
captured the popular imagi-
nation. It has also spawned a
mini-industry of responses
and refutations.
The novel seems to have polar-
ised readers. There are those
for whom it is a “must read”
and others for whom it holds
no appeal at all. There are
those who are convinced, de-
spite the fact that it is a novel,
that this is the real truth of
Christianity. Wrong!
The book does not claim to be
anything other than a thriller in
the style of John Grisham.
True it is about a Harvard pro-
fessor in search of the Holy
Grail. In this respect it is yet
another reworking of an old
plot.
Part of the trap for readers
however is its claim that “all
descriptions of art, architec-
ture, documents and secret ritu-
als in this novel are accurate”.
Some may be—others are best
guesses.
There are however a number of
quite clear errors of Christian
tradition, doctrine and dogma
in the novel.
Error 1: That the canonical
Gospels of Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John are NOT the
earliest gospels but that they
followed the Gnostic gospels.
But, whereas the canonical
gospels have been dated from
the mid-first century, the earli-
est Gnostic gospels seem to
date from the second to fourth
Centuries of the Common Era
(CE).
Error 2: That Jesus was a
great man, but his divinity
was not proclaimed until the
Council of Nicea in the fourth
century. This ignores any
number of statements of Jesus
recorded in the Gospels, and
the general assumptions of
the New Testament.
As C.S Lewis pithily pointed
out, Jesus was either God or a
liar. He could not have been
merely a great or good man.
The trap for readers is the
claim that “all descriptions
of art, architecture, docu-
ments and secret rituals in
this novel are accurate”.
Error 6: That the Dead Sea
Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi
Gospels are the earliest written
Christian records. The Dead
Sea Scrolls are purely Jewish
texts. There is no evidence that
the Nag Hammadi texts were
written before the second cen-
tury CE.
Error 7: That the Church over
time suppressed the “sacred
feminine”. Brown claims that
God was a feminine deity.
Scripture clearly presents and
image of God which is neither
male nor female, although the
Greek designation of the Holy
Spirit uses a feminine form of
language. It was the
“unknowableness of God” in
this respect which was so puz-
zling to the Greeks of the an-
cient world.
Few would want to argue that
historically the church has not
been guilty of male chauvinism
to varying degrees but to make
the claims that Brown does
goes beyond common sense
and historical or theological
accuracy.
This article derives from an
article by Steve Francis pub-
lished in Western Impact,
March 2005. The full text of
the article can be found on
the Assembly Update web-
site.
Some useful references:
The History of Christianity, Tim
Dowley. Lion 1990.
The Gospel Code, Ben Witherington.
Error 3: That the emperor
Constantine imposed the ca-
nonical Gospels and the doc-
trine of Jesus’ divinity on the
Church. This is a mischie-
vous misreading of church
history.
Error 4: That Jesus was mar-
ried to Mary Magdalene. This
is a fanciful extrapolation
based on the non-canonical
Gnostic gospels. The Gospels
are silent on the issue but a
logical reading of Scripture
does not sustain this interpre-
tation.
Error 5: Jesus must have been
married because that was the
custom of the time. This is
another unfounded assump-
tion. Jesus’ cousin, John the
Baptist, as a Nazarite was a
typical Jewish ascetic, living
a solitary and prophetic life.
Northern Synod News March 2005 16
May the Risen Christ of East-
er remain with you to give you hope throughout
the year.
April 15—16
Presbytery & children
at Presbytery
April 17—20 Ministers’
retreat
May 21 Graham Bell in
Darwin
June 3 –4 MACS
(Darwin)
June 18 Synod
Standing Committee
Diary Dates Next Edition of Northern Syn-
od News
July/August 2005
To contribute news items or
articles contact the
Editor, NSN …
Wendy Beresford-Maning.
c/- Synod Office or wendy.beresford-maning
@ns.uca.org.au
Speech is an invention of
man’s to prevent him from
thinking.
Unless you assume a God, the
question of life’s purpose is
meaningless. - Bertrand Russell
God doesn't play dice. - Albert Einstein A person without a purpose is
like a ship without a rudder—
a waif, a nothing, a non-
person. - Thomas Carlyle
We don’t see things as they
are, we see them as we are. - Anais Nin
All God’s giants were weak
people. - Hudson Taylor
Christians like snowflakes are
frail, but when they stick to-
gether they can stop the traf-
fic. - Vance Havner
Do all the good you can, by
all the means you can, in all
the ways you can, in all the
places you can, at all the time
you can, to all the people you
can, as long as ever you can. - John Wesley
Blessed are the balanced:they
outlast everyone. - Rick Warren
The silence of religious
experience is never a silence
in which the soul shuts itself
up in isolation.
It is a silence which opens out
on to the infinite in a true
communion of minds and
hearts, in real unity founded
on respect for diversity.
Facts of faith
Fast growing flocks: Religion 1996 2003 %change
Buddhists 199812 357813 79
Hindus 67279 95473 42 Muslims 200885 281578 40
National weekly church attendance,
2001
Anglican 177,700
Apostolic 9100
AOG 104,600
Baptist 112,200
Christian City Churches 11,400
Christian Revival Crusade 11,400
Churches of Christ 45,100
Lutheran 40,500
Presbyterian 35,000
Reformed Presbyterian 7,100
Salvation Army 27,900
Seventh Day Adventist 36,600
Uniting Church 126,600
Wesleyan Methodist 3,800
Roman Catholic 764,800
(No figure available for Orthodox
church attendance).
Source: National Church Life Survey
and the Australian Bureau of Statis-
tics (prepared by the Christian Re-
search Association).
Published in The Australian, Decem-
ber 23, 2004.